Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Unternehmensethik (zfwu)

About

zfwu is a scholarly journal. Through its interdisciplinary theoretical and practical orientation at the crossroads of economics and (practical) philosophy, it primarily provides the discipline as well as interested representatives of business, politics and other relevant institutions with a high level business and economic ethics discussion forum. The languages of publication are German and English.

zfwu is published three times a year. As a general rule, issues focus on a lead topic; however, they offer enough room for the publication of articles that do not specifically address the lead topic. Each issue opens with a “main article” by a renowned scholar followed by more “contributions”. As a rule, the main article and other contributions are the subject of critical commentaries. The “Practice” rubric holds space in each issue for a practical article, or as the case may be, an article with a distinctive relation to practice and/or for the presentation of a practical project. Furthermore, a doctoral thesis project is presented in each issue.

ISSN Print 1439-880X
ISSN Online 1862-0043
Three issues per year

Editors

• Prof. Dr. theol. Anika Christina Albert, University of Bielefeld, Germany
• Prof. Dr. Dr. Alexander Brink University of Bayreuth, Germany
• PD Dr. Bettina Hollstein University of Erfurt, Germany
• Prof. Dr. Marc C. Hübscher, University of Ulm, Germany
• Prof. Dr. Christian Neuhäuser TU Dortmund, Germany

Advisory Board

In complete accordance with the concept underlying zfwu, we were able to appoint an academic advisory board which covers different disciplines and within which a variety of positions are represented. This circle consists of renowned scholars from the fields of national economics, business economics, philosophy, and theology as well as well-known business personalities. The following people sit on the academic advisory board:

• Prof. Dr. Michael S. Aßländer, TU Dresden, Germany
• Dr. Dr. Thomas Bausch, Bausch Stiftung, Germany
• Prof. Dr. em. Georges Enderle, University of Notre Dame, USA
• Prof. Dr. Eilert Herms, University of Tübingen, Germany
• Prof. Dr. em. Hans G. Nutzinger, University of Kassel, Germany
• Prof. Dr. Fabienne Peter, University of Warwick, UK
• Prof. Dr. Reinhard Pfriem, University of Oldenburg, Germany
• Prof. Dr. Birger P. Priddat, University of Witten/Herdecke, Germany
• Prof. Dr. Andreas Suchanek, HHL Leipzig, Germany
• Prof. Dr. em. Peter Ulrich, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
• Prof. Dr. Dr. Johannes Wallacher, IHS Munich, Germany
• Prof. Dr. Josef Wieland, HTWG Konstanz, Germany

The academic advisory board’s task is to give counsel on fundamental questions both regarding the journal and the publication series and to collaborate in shaping the contents. To this end, regular meetings are held with the publishing and editorial teams.

We would like to seize this opportunity to expressly thank all participants for their dedication and support. 

Guest Editors

zfwu is always interested in cooperation with guest editors. We invite all interested researchers to submit concepts for topic-specific issues. The decision on the acceptance or rejection of a concept will be made based on an internal review.

Your proposal should include the following information

• CfP (about 2500 characters)
• A list of potential authors (with whom you have already discussed the proposal beforehand, in the best case)
• An author who is willing to write a main article and potential authors for replies of that article

Please also note that the individual contributions are subject to a double blind peer review process, which is organized by the editors in cooperation with the zfwu editorial staff.

Editorial Office

• Max Tittlbach

Max Tittlbach
Institut für Diakoniewissenschaft und Diakoniemanagement
Universität Bielefeld
Bethelweg 8
33617 Bielefeld
Germany

E-Mail: zfwu@nomos-journals.de

Manuscripts are welcome.

Special Edition

• Lehren aus Corona – Impulse aus der Wirtschafts- und Unternehmensethik
  Historically, crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted politicians to break up dead-locked structures and implement far-reaching reforms. Path dependencies can be interrupted in times of crisis.This volume examines the social impact of the current pandemic as well as both the long-term challenges it poses and the potential it offers from the perspective of economic and business ethics. How has the COVID-19 crisis changed the balance of power between the state, markets and business? What are the obligations of companies during a pandemic? To what extent are the fight against the coronavirus crisis and that against the climate crisis compatible? What role can and should business ethics play in times of crisis?

Call for Papers

• Social Welfare and Business Ethics, zfwu 27/1
  Submission Deadline: April 1st, 2025

Authors Guidelines

Publishing Open Access

zfwu is not an open access journal. However, it is possible to publish individual articles in the journal open access by making the digital version freely available under a Creative Commons license chosen by the respective author(s). The publisher requires a fee to cover the publication costs (Article Processing Charge – APC) in the amount of 1,990.00 EUR (plus VAT). Many scientific institutions and science funding bodies provide corresponding funds for the publication of research results.

Are you interested in this option? Talk to your editorial office or contact open-access@nomos.de!

Style Sheet

Publication Ethics

Abstracting & Indexing

The articles of zfwu are for example indexed by

• RePEc
• Google Scholar
• Baidu Xue Shu
• ProQuest ExLibris Primo Index
• IBZ und IBR (De Gruyter)
• Dimensions
• Econbiz
• Business Source Complete (EBSCO)
• EconLit

zfwu is included in the following ProQuest databases

• ABI/INFORM Collection
• ABI/INFORM Global
• ProQuest Central
• Business Premium Collection
• Continental Europe Database
• IBSS
• Philosophy Database
• Pharma Collection
• Social Science Premium Collection

Peer Review Process

In a table that ranked international academic journals compiled by the University of Vienna in 2020, the zfwu was assigned a ‘B’ rating. A journal can only receive such recognition after undergoing a strict yet fair review process, which we in turn implement consistently when selecting which contributions we publish.

All the contributions published in the zfwu (with the exception of any authors who are invited to write an article for publication) undergo a double-blind review process according to international standards, which means that neither the reviewers nor the authors are made aware of each other’s identities during the process. Before the review process commences, each contribution is vetted by two of the zfwu’s editors to ensure that its content is relevant to the journal and that it meets the required general academic standards. Subsequently, each manuscript submitted is assessed anonymously according to the following criteria by at least two reviewers. If their evaluations of a submission differ dramatically, the services of a third reviewer will usually be enlisted.

If the editors accept a submission for publication subject to revisions (on the basis of the reviewers’ recommendations), these changes should be integrated into the contribution. If the author deems this as not possible, they should submit a detailed explanation of their reasons why. The author should systematically document the changes in a separate document and explain them according to a prescribed structure (in an editing report). The editors of the zfwu will then review these changes and synchronise them with the reviewers’ recommendations.

The entire review process (from a manuscript’s submission to its final acceptance for publication, including any changes made by the author) lasts four to six months on average, although it can take longer in individual cases. Contributions that receive positive reviews will be published in the next free issue of the journal.

Copyright

Media Kit